One type of printing press prints images upon a web of material, such as paper. Many such printing presses include impression cylinders that apply ink and other pigments to the web, thereby transferring at least a portion of an image onto the web. Impression cylinders come in a variety of sizes such that for a single rotation of the impression cylinder, a certain number of pages are printed on the web. Typical impression cylinders yield between one and four pages per revolution.
Gravure printing presses are configured such that the circumference of the impression cylinder can be changed. By changing the impression cylinder circumference, the length of the pages printed by the gravure press can also be changed. Gravure presses therefore provide added flexibility with respect to the size of the finished printed product that the printing press can produce.
Folder devices are also known that receive the printed web from the printing press and cut the web into individual printed products such as, for example, signatures. Many folder devices are also operable to divert the individual signatures to different collation paths as required for a given printing job. Some known folder devices are drivingly coupled to the printing press such that the operating speed of the folder device corresponds to the operating speed of the printing press. Changes to the printing press, such as changes to the impression cylinder to vary the number of pages per cylinder revolution, and/or to vary the length of the printed page, require corresponding changes to the folder device. Various types of mechanical gearing devices have been utilized to attain multiple drive ratios between the printing press and certain folder components, in an effort to accommodate such changes to the printing press.